Bolinao, Pangasinan: Where Else to Stay and What to do

There are a lot of resorts in the Bolinao, Pangasinan area. There are two other resorts worth visiting -- Punta Riviera and Treasures of Bolinao aside from Puerto del Sol. They are not as nice as Puerto del Sol but their prices are a bit cheaper. I finished this Bolinao series with a visual land tour of Bolinao. Do share your getaway if we missed any awesome place in Bolinao?

PUNTA RIVIERA RESORT" An upmarket, stunning, romantic beach and river resort in a unique environmental setting located less than one hour drive from Hundred Islands with infinity pool and quality cuisine, catering for tours, family reunions, weddings, business conventions for up to 300 persons."

Punta Riviera has the best infinity pool in the Bolinao, Pangasinan area. Just imagine sitting by the pool whle watching the sunset. Unlike Puerto del Sol, they don't have an enclosed structure. Punta Riviera enjoys a wide 15km beach area you can use for beach activities. Also, the resort is strategically located where Ilog Malino meets the South China Sea. You can do Kayaking along Ilog Malino.

" Your visit to Bolinao is not complete until you see the Patar beach & the century old lighthouse. Treasures of Bolinao is the only resort located in the heart of Patar white beach. "

This is the key competitor of Punta del Sol in Bolinao but it pales in comparison based on the swimming pool. I would agree that it is the only resort located near Patar white beach and the lighthouse -- but so what? You can always drive to Patar beach anytime and see the lighthouse along the way.

Here is your sunbathing view from the resort obstructed by this concrete bridge. We don't want you to see this in the brochures, don't we?
The best asset of Treasures in Bolinao is walking along this concrete bridge with an awesome view of the Rock formations.

This is one awesome view! I would book in Treasures of Bolinao just to enjoy this view. I am surprised that they are not marketing this in their brochures. But if you are staying at Puerto del Sol, you can always enter Treasures of Bolinao and just say you are checking out the place for your next return trip to Bolinao.

Land Tour of Bolinao

Puerto del Sol charges P300/ head with VAN (P175 without VAN) with a minimum of 5 persons. You can definitely go to all the places by yourself because you can just drive down all the way to the Patar beach. Most of the points of interest are along the way.

Enchanted Cave. There are three caves in Bolinao and only the Enchanted Cave is worth visiting. I would not recommend swimming in the cave just because of the number of people swimming in a stale water environment.

Rock Formations. As part of the Puerto del Sol tour, you would go to this rock formations located beside Treasures of Bolinao. This rock formation is pathetic. I would recommend that you go inside Treasures of Bolinao and walk along the concrete path to see the awesome rock formations!

Patar Beach - This is a public swimmable beach. The current is super strong and I did not even attempt to swim here. The beach is brown - beige color and this is far from being the Boracay of the North.Cape Bolinao, Lighthouse - Nice lighthouse but you cannot go up like the other lighthouse we've been to.

Don't miss the awesome sunset in Bolinao.

Binuguey -- Don't forget to buy Binuguey which is suman cooked inside a bamboo. You can only try this in Bolinao, we bought this in Bolinao town! Rache and Momsy loved it. I liked mine with a dash of splenda.

Comments

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i was just in Bolinao a couple of weeks ago. i like the crystal clear water, the almost white sand and the fantastic view. i went to the more budget resort just beside Treasures. maybe when i get back to Bolinao, i'll consider Puerto Del Sol. :-)

Hi! Just discovered your website and I like this spread about Pangasinan. I'm looking for a vacation spot for 20 people that is on a cheaper rate and somehow Punta Rivieria can work but can you suggest something cheaper?

buti naman di siya matatawag na Boracay of the North. it will probably save it from the Boracay type people
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Patar Beach - This is a public swimmable beach. The current is super strong and I did not even attempt to swim here. The beach is brown - beige color and this is far from being the Boracay of the North.

Anton, the people who made the website of Punta de Riviera should take a page from your blog! I saw their website a few months back and it didn't particularly strike my fancy. Now, with OAP, I've made a decision where to go next summer.

hi kuh. When we went to bolinao, we stayed at a more affordable place/resort called Bing's Beach Resort. They actually have a big house for rent for only Php8k/night. It's beachfront pa. You can view the resort at this link- http://www.blogalag.com/blog/2008/05/experience-boli.html

I've been there on Treasures of Bolinao with my husband and son when typhoon frank hit us.We were the only persons there.With no electric and ac the whole night we left the next day.Besides, the place doesn't even have a generator for emergency.Accomodation was basic-no phone no tv.Food was salty.The place needs repair-door unhinged so it falls down when you open it.Toilet is backed up so we couldn't use it.We transfered room 3 times since some of the rooms had water inside.The beach is nice even tho' for a stormy weather but that's all.

Thanks to those beautiful pictures of resorts in Bolinao. The Punta Riviera was particularly inticing. We decided to reserve three rooms for the family. To our big disappointment, Punta Riviera doesn't at all reppresent the true advert or discription on the blogs or their own web site. How we wish we did not stay at this resort. We were disappointed with the poor service,inadequate fascilities - toilet that blocked can't be flushed, smelly bedroom "parang malansa". If we have to tick a checklist this failures can go on and on. No need to elaborate just see or hear from your friends who witnessed.

I've been there on Punta Riviera with my husband and son when typhoon frank hit us.We were the only persons there.With no electric and ac the whole night we left the next day.Besides, the place doesn't even have a generator for emergency.Accomodation was basic-no phone no tv.Food was salty.The place needs repair-door unhinged so it falls down when you open it.Toilet is backed up so we couldn't use it.We transfered room 3 times since some of the rooms had water inside.The beach is nice even tho' for a stormy weather but that's all.

im now in taiwan, and would like to spend my christmas with my wife in bolinao, can you suggest me. which of the 3 resort is the best, punta rivieraa, treasure of bolinao, or puerto del sol. we love beaches, snorkeling. weve been to palawan, and would like to try bolinao. thank you

Just a swift blog on what we had expereiced at Treasures. Reading the previous blogs, its seems their is inbalance of fair comments of this resort. In September our family plan to have a get together party and our grandma wish to spend her 85th birthday by the seaside. I quickly scroll the web and found many beutiful web sites and interesting resorts. Since my grandma family origin from Pangasinan, she suggested to visit Pangasinan and in particular Bolinao. I came across a web site which represent a picturique scenery “Treasures of Bolinao”. I also looked at few web of Bolinao resort and some to them are very enticing. In our experience as a regular holiday makers we often find resort web site astonishingly well presented but regretably represent a opposite level of service and facilities. So, I decided to further my search. I went through many of the bloggers site such as this site. I later found out that many of the resort in Bolinao contents negative comments. However, I am not easily persuated with the truthfulness of the blog. I did mentioned to my cousin that we are planning to have our get togeter family reunion. Glad to say that he also been at Treasures of Bolinao on their team building “Proctol and Gamble”. His fedback that this resort provided all they had requested and required. That means, I have the basis to believe the assessment of the professionals. Needless to say, our family decided to held grandma 85th birthday and family reunion.

We are very satisfied with the outcome of this important occassion. Everyone is overjoyed seeing relatives. I believe Treasures of Bolinao staff, facilities and location contributed to the success of this long waited occassion. The food was fresh, the rooms are clean and aircon working, staff are attentive, polite and good looking, security around the clock and the beach is just adjuscent to the resort. I have no hesitation to recommend Treasures of Bolinao beach resort especially to those want to held their birthday and family reunion.

As a token of our appreciation. Thank you Treasures for everything that you have done. You made our grandma birthday an occassion that well remember. We will be back soon. K Lopez

... been to patar beach & the beach is quite beautiful and its the cheapest of them all..you only get to pay the cottage & the parking space. Its the nearest to treasures of bolinao. To some who likes waterfalls, there are 2 awesome waterfalls. Its more refreshing than the beach... they called it there 'busay'.Its an hour of rough driving from patar beach but its worth the effort.

Punta Riviera (63) 75 6961350, is the nicest most modern of them all. I live in bolinao on santiago, i can say for sure. Its a little pricey but you wont be dissapointed during your relaxation which is KEY. Puerto Del Sol, Treasures, Rock Garden all charge expensive rate. You will end up very disappointed when stay at these resorts.

I just got back to Manila from PUNTA RIVIERA RESORT, Bolinao. At first, we were excited to visit the place as this is our first time to be in Bolinao. But after getting there, as soon as we are assisted to our Cabanas, instead of an exciting stress-relieving vacation, it turned out to the WORST vacation ever!-----The place is not that impressive compared to other resorts in Bolinao, our Cabanas look like underground holding dens, VERY POOR SERVICE (most of the staff are insensitive and sarcastic, OVERPRICING of services (even just borrowing an extra towel is worth P150--non refundable! everything is so damn expensive.), there's a permanent 2-hr "brown out" every after 5hrs, and their SUPER EXPENSIVE, UNREASONABLE food was NEVER good. They would always serve it in small servings even in buffet setting.. sobra kaming tinipid! And we are not the only IRATE supposed-to-be-valued-guests in the resort. We see and hear irritated visitors and complaining guests all the time. We really regret choosing this hell place over the better resorts in the area.

So if you are looking for a place to stay in Bolinao, pls pls pls do not go to PUNTA RIVIERA RESORT. This place sucks! PUNTA RIVIERA RESORT will suck the money and energy out of you and will leave you stressed, irate and broke!

HEY DONT DELETE OUR COMMENT EVEN IF IT IS A NEGATIVE FEEDBACK. We didnt mention any derogatory words naman nor offend anyone so why delete our comments? It's our way of helping out other travellers out there to choose the right places and not to commit the same mistake as we did.. leaving our vacations ruined.

If you are looking for value for money, Punta Riviera just don't fit. It's pretty expensive for the quality of service, the place and amenities, the quality and quantity of food. It's cheaper than the other resorts, but what you get in Punta Riviera is just not reasonable. I've been there quite recently.

Service - wow, you'd feel really invisible here specially in their restaurant. You'd have to go to the counter yourself just to get water or condiments.

Room - never get the cabana unless you want to feel how it's like to stay in a cave or inside a tin can. And you pay 1,800 for this? Not worth it.

Electricity - it runs on generators that they turn off for 2 hours every 5-6 hours. I mean el nido town and san vicente in palawan also didn't have 24 hour electricity, but they told us in advance and didn't charge us exorbitant fees. And had we known in advance if Punta Riviera told us about the brownouts, we wouldn't have booked there in the first place.

Food - your househelp can cook better food than their "cook." The quantity is measly and quality bad. For their price of about 210pesos for a sinigang with 4 tiny slices of pork? Again, not value for money.

Towels - i can't believe they charge 150 pesos for an extra towel. This is plain highway robbery! I have not been charged for extra towels in more expensive hotels and resorts. Never.

And that's not all.

I don't mind paying extra if I get my money's worth. Punta Riviera is too much of a rip off. But don't take my word for it. Go experience these things yourselves. As they say, misery loves company! =)

I just got back from PUNTA RIVIERA RESORT, Bolinao just this weekend with a group of friends who also like to travel but unfortunately, this place is not as good as it looks like. At first we were excited to visit the place because it is our first time to be in Bolinao but after getting there, after we were assisted to our Cabanas, our well-deserved out-of-town vacay turned out to be the worst vacation ever! The place is not that impressive compared to the other resorts in the area, our Cabanas look like underground holding dens, OVERPRICING of services (just borrowing an extra towel is worth P150--non refundable! you can buy 2 towels in SM with that price!), there's a permanent 2-hr "brown-out" every after 5 hrs, most of the staff are INSENSITIVE AND SARCASTIC, the EXPENSIVE UNREASONABLE food (despite of taking an hour to prepare) was NEVER good and they would always serve them in small amounts.. sobra kaming tinipid!

And we are not the only irate supposed-to-be-valued guests in the resort. We would always see and hear irritated and complaining visitors all the time.. complaining about everything because the service is just oh so bad!

So if you are looking for a place to stay in Bolinao, pls pls pls do not go to PUNTA RIVIERA RESORT. This place will suck the money and energy out of you and will leave you IRATE, STRESSED and BROKE!

Hi - we just came back from Punta Riviera and had an outstanding holiday there in one of the most romantic resorts in the Philippines. Gener was nice as were all the other staff who smile a lot. Rooms were nice - clean with new beadspreads and spacious. Food was international and good pinoy. We had a brownout there for 10 hrs and Gener told us that that they they have two generators so no problems. WQe have stayed at some of the other places - but no more! We read reviews from Travel Adviser, Bolinao and found them more reliable than some of the silly comments made on this blog.

i would suggest to you mr anton to please be honest with your reviews especially the Puerto del sol because honestly this hotel really sucks. my god, where did you get your good reviews about this aging resort? are you getting paid for all your good reviews? kng katabi kita ngayon dto sa hotel ngyn gusto kita batukan kasi kaya kami pumunta d2 dahil sa good reviews mo.

I'm sorry to hear about your experience. It is sad to hear that the resort was not maintained well. That's already the best place to stay in the area. I don't get paid for any reviews here in OAP. Just transfer to a lower grade hotel and just lower your expectation next time.

I think all resorts aren't well maintained. I didn't mind that. The place just isn't worth the long trip. And the tryk drivers are very territorial with regards to the tour. The locals are just ripping us off. Sayang ang Bolinao. It would've been a better place if the local government invested on its tourism potential. Go to Pagudpud, the food is better there too. and your money definitely would be worth it.

Oh, and by the way, if you happen to come by a driver named Roland, by any means, DON't hire him for the tour if you want your vacation to be less stressful. haha

Good evening! Do you know any transient house that you can recommend for us to stay in? Because we are going to bring our own food to cook? We are hoping to get an affordable and decent transient house where there are comfortable air conditioned rooms, clean toilet/bathrooms, and a kitchen where we can cook our own food? Any recommendation regarding transient houses in Patar, Bolinao will be of a lot help. Thank you so much.